John M. Hickman (May 28, 1925 - April 23, 1964) was an architect in Wichita,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. His work includes the Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center, Wichita State University's Ablah Library, and the

Vickers Petroleum Service Station The Vickers Petroleum Service Station is a historic building constructed in 1954 in Haysville, Kansas. It was the first service station to feature a hyperbolic paraboloid form, also known as a "batwing", developed by John M. Hickman and was pla ...

Haysville, Kansas Haysville is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,262. Haysville is known as the "Peach Capital of Kansas". History W.W. Hays came to this area ...

which was the first gas station to feature a futuristic "batwing" design. The gas station was added to the Kansas Register of Historic Places in August 2019 and the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in October 2019.

Personal life

Born in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

, Hickman moved with his family to Wichita. He served in the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

. He worked as an illustrator for various aviation companies before becoming an architect. Hickman was an apprentice to

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. His architectural partner was Roy K. Varenhorst. Hickman died by suicide/carbon monoxide poisoning on April 23, 1964, while working on Wichita's Century II project. He was married and had four daughters.

Legacy

Wichita State University has a collection of his papers.

Work

(1954), NRHP listed * Ablah Library (1962) *

Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center is a performing arts and convention center in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is located between Douglas Street and Waterman Street near the east bank of the Arkansas River in downtown Wichita. ...

(1969) *Woodman Elementary School *Rea Woodman Elementary School *1531 Siefkin Street *1560 Fairfield Lane *Riverview Country Club *Tilford House

References

Architects from Kansas Wichita State University people {{DEFAULTSORT:Hickman, John 1925 births 1964 deaths 20th-century American architects 1964 suicides Suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning Suicides in Kansas